Weekend in New England
First of all, my hat is off to those of you who blog daily, or even several times a week. Each week I think I will get two to three entries added to this site, yet I find myself struggling to get one. But I digress.
One reason for my absence of late was a recent trip to New England, flying from Greensboro, N.C. to Hartford, Conn., and then driving up to Amherst, Mass. I took the trip with my, hmm, first time to publicly announce, partner? — that sounds too stiff; girlfriend? — that sounds to high school; chick I'm chillin' with? — OK, that will have to work for now, anyway, I took the trip with Taryn and we met fellow Goucher College student Diane at the airport and the three of us rented a Chrysler PT Cruiser together. I must say, I was skeptical about the Cruiser, but I found it to be more roomy than I expected and a fun and comfortable ride.
So we made it to Amherst where we were meeting other Goucher Gophers (yes, their mascot really is Gophers) at the Lord Jeffrey Inn, a historic hotel-type establishment in downtown Amherst. Our room was quite fascinating. First, it was tucked under the stairs that go down to the bottom floor. The lovely view from our windows looked out onto the ground and street, as they were basically at ground level. The room had a foul odor. I'm guessing the smell was paint, but it never seemed to fade for the three days we were there. Our phone didn't work when we got there. The room was small (a Motel 6 room is generally bigger) and without many of the amenities — such as hair dryers, an iron, lotion, etc. — often found in hotel rooms these days.
But I was there to meet with the rest of my group in the Goucher College MFA/Creative Nonfiction program and meet with our mentor professor for the semester, Dick Todd. We had an all-day session at Amherst College that included lunch with author Tracy Kidder. That night we had dinner with Taryn's cousin Jen and her family.
We woke up Sunday morning to a few inches of snow, very cold weather, and blustery conditions. The morning started with a one-on-one with Todd (as Tracy Kidder calls Dick, so I want to pretend that I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and call Dick by his last name) followed by a late lunch with Jen & company down in Sturbridge. (Happy birthday Steve!!) Unfortunately, it was an eat-and-run occasion because we had to be back to the Lord Jeffrey and on to dinner at Dick's house where the dinner included some delectable lamb.
After a night of dining and good conversation, it was back to the Lord Jeffrey for a final uncomfortable night and then back to our lives in the lovely New River Valley of Virginia.
So that's what's been going on in my life. How about you?!?
One reason for my absence of late was a recent trip to New England, flying from Greensboro, N.C. to Hartford, Conn., and then driving up to Amherst, Mass. I took the trip with my, hmm, first time to publicly announce, partner? — that sounds too stiff; girlfriend? — that sounds to high school; chick I'm chillin' with? — OK, that will have to work for now, anyway, I took the trip with Taryn and we met fellow Goucher College student Diane at the airport and the three of us rented a Chrysler PT Cruiser together. I must say, I was skeptical about the Cruiser, but I found it to be more roomy than I expected and a fun and comfortable ride.
So we made it to Amherst where we were meeting other Goucher Gophers (yes, their mascot really is Gophers) at the Lord Jeffrey Inn, a historic hotel-type establishment in downtown Amherst. Our room was quite fascinating. First, it was tucked under the stairs that go down to the bottom floor. The lovely view from our windows looked out onto the ground and street, as they were basically at ground level. The room had a foul odor. I'm guessing the smell was paint, but it never seemed to fade for the three days we were there. Our phone didn't work when we got there. The room was small (a Motel 6 room is generally bigger) and without many of the amenities — such as hair dryers, an iron, lotion, etc. — often found in hotel rooms these days.
But I was there to meet with the rest of my group in the Goucher College MFA/Creative Nonfiction program and meet with our mentor professor for the semester, Dick Todd. We had an all-day session at Amherst College that included lunch with author Tracy Kidder. That night we had dinner with Taryn's cousin Jen and her family.
We woke up Sunday morning to a few inches of snow, very cold weather, and blustery conditions. The morning started with a one-on-one with Todd (as Tracy Kidder calls Dick, so I want to pretend that I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and call Dick by his last name) followed by a late lunch with Jen & company down in Sturbridge. (Happy birthday Steve!!) Unfortunately, it was an eat-and-run occasion because we had to be back to the Lord Jeffrey and on to dinner at Dick's house where the dinner included some delectable lamb.
After a night of dining and good conversation, it was back to the Lord Jeffrey for a final uncomfortable night and then back to our lives in the lovely New River Valley of Virginia.
So that's what's been going on in my life. How about you?!?
posted by Tim W. Jackson | 8:52 PM
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3 comments
